As you might already know, or at least not be surprised to learn, Robert Frost had a home in Vermont just up the mountain from here.

He spent many summers in Ripton and was closely tied to the Middlebury College Breadloaf campus in the Green Mountains. His house is still at the end of Frost Road, and there’s a 1.2 mile walking loop through the woods nearby. It’s one of our family’s favorite places to go, and when the 2008 flood took out the trail’s bridge over the Middlebury River, we were devastated. It took 2 years, but they worked to get the funding to replace the bridge and reopen the trail.

It’s a popular place, as trails go around here. That means there’s a parking lot (of 4 spaces) and a small outhouse. On December 30th, I had the opportunity to spend half the day by myself and it was a beautiful morning. It had snowed a bit the night before but the day dawned sunny and cloudless. I walked through my own woods first, then headed up the mountain to see what I could see. I found the trail open, but I was the only person there that Thursday morning. (Most of the cars on the road that day were headed up to the ski areas.) I thoroughly enjoyed that cold, silent trek with only my camera and tripod for company.

Along the trail there are signposts with a number of Frost’s poems and thoughts. I always enjoy them, but this time I gained more from his words that I have in the past. Perhaps it was the lack of children to watch over or maybe it was the internal reflection that comes at the end of the year that made the difference, I don’t know. Below are a few of the images and the rest are on flickr.

Happy New Year!

Cause and effect

My barn

The old trail and the new one (aka: two roads diverged in a yellow wood)

Hardwood groves

It was with some reluctance I headed home that day.